Originally Posted by w squared

Well said. The same principles apply regardless of what industry you're in.

A) Promise what you can deliver, and deliver what you promise.

B) Tell your customer when you're going to deviate from point (A). Don't treat them like a mushroom.

C) When you scr@w the pooch, own up to it and find a way to make it right. This will build a loyal long-term customer base. Failure to do this when you find yourself in a position requiring point (B) will mean that your customer will become someone else's customer. And ten other potential customers will probably never even look at your product.

Point C is especially important. In a market like Jeeps where one customer will potentially be back to the same manufacturer time and time again if kept happy (front bumper, rear bumper, sliders, tire carrier) it makes dollars and cents to establish and maintain a loyal customer base.

Originally Posted by Coach

As a relative newbie. Take this with a grain of salt. I have been around plenty of people, myself included, that are just looking for reasonable communication. I ordered a non-jeep item from a company. They did not have all the items of my order, but have e-mailed me continuously letting me know that they have literally "not forgotten me" and are working with the manufacturer to get the item. They also refunded the shipping of the item. I didn't ask for it, but certainly will order from them again based solely on their CS. I think most of us are asking for a little understanding from the manufacturers that we just want reasonable communication and we will remain loyal. Agree?

Originally Posted by w squared

C) When you scr@w the pooch, own up to it and find a way to make it right.

Originally Posted by dyolfknip

Hate to break it to you but if they are shipping it UPS or FedEx you will get hit with more fees. Brokerage fees usually total close to 25% of the full price. Not Shrocks fault, just letting you know about how "free trade" really isnt free.

Hopefully you know about these fees.

Originally Posted by w squared

I know that Shrockworks is a sponsor here...but all that's stated below is simply fact. I am not making any comment on the quality of their product.

I ordered a Shrockworks Mid-width right at the beginning of November. I was told 6-8 weeks, and that's okay. I understand that made-to-order production is not compatible with instant gratification.

While waiting, I went ahead and purchased a 9.5ti and a synthetic winch line. I obviously didn't buy a winch plate for the stock bumper because I've already got a great winch-compatible bumper coming from Shrockworks, right?

Then I followed up at the beginning of January, because that's 8 weeks from my order date, I was told "We've had some problems because we moved production facilities, and we'll have your bumper to you in early February." Okay...at least an extra four weeks of waiting. I can't say that I was crazy about it, but I can deal with that. It did irk me a little bit that I've already paid for the bumper and the shipping, but I'm a big boy and I understand that things don't always work out the way we want.

Well, we've got a week left in February, so I thought I'd call and touch base with Shrockworks. Apparently they're still having issues because of moving their production facility. I was told today that I MAY get my bumper during the month of March. While pleasant, the gent I spoke to on the phone didn't offer anything more than "sorry" to make up for the wait.

So let's review the facts:

#1. If they shipped my bumper today, the wait time would be TWICE the longest time they forecast when I bought it.

#2. I paid up front, in full. Bumper, shipping, additional shipping and duties to get it to my adress in Canada.

#3. I've had additional parts which add up to a larger investment than the bumper just gathering dust baecause I'm waiting on the bumper.

#4. The cause of the delay is moving supposedly production facilities. Something that I would imagine was planned...but obviously not planned adequately if it introduced an additional two month delay into their production schedule.

#5. Despite the fact that they've had my money for a period equal to twice their longest advertised delivery window (and have yet to begin production on my bumper) their customer service staff did not see any requirement to offer any material concession to indicate that they valued my business.

Am I being unreasonable by expecting that if you've already got my money, you're going to deliver a product within a reasonable amount of time or contact me with an alternative plan?

Am I being unreasonable by thinking that in the current economic climate, it is a sound proposal to hire some additional staff to deal with a backlog of orders that your customers have already paid your for? Given that your customers have already paid for the items in question, you should certainly have the funds.

Am I being unreasonable by not meekly accepting that every time I ask about my order, the delivery date is pushed back by a month?

Shrockworks doesn't have much longer before I ask for a full refund. It doesn't really matter how stout a bumper is if it's not on my Jeep.

Originally Posted by w squared

No, not UPS. I do not do business with places south of the border that insist on shipping UPS instead of USPS because of those brokerage fees.